Bacteriological Profile of Patients Suffering from Acute Versus Chronic Port Site Infection at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Surgical (port) site infections can complicate the course of recovery in a surgical patient. It is important to know the spectrum of organisms and their antibiotic sensitivity pattern for targeted treatment of SSI. Objective: To determine bacteriological profile of patients suffering from acute and chronic surgical (port) site infection (SSI). Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was held at CMH, Rawalpindi from May -Dec 2022 which included the patients who had elective laparoscopic surgery and eventually developed acute or chronic surgical-site infection. Bacteriologic profile of both acute and chronic surgical-site infections was assessed along with their sensitivity to various commonly used antibiotics. Data was analyzed by statistical package for social sciences 21. Results: A total of 526 patients had elective laparoscopic surgical procedures during study period amongst which 60 patients (11.40%) developed SSI which were included in the study. Amongst these 60 patients, 39 (65.00%) were male and 21 (35.00%) were females with a mean age of 34.31 +/- 8.93years. Acute SSI occurred in 38 (63.30%) while 22 (36.70%) were found to have chronic SSI. In cases of acute SSI, Staphylococcus aureus while in chronic SSI cases, Mycobacterium fortuitum was common. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found in both types of SSI. Conclusion: Overall frequency of SSI was 11.40%. In acute SSI, Staphylococcus aureus was the main culprit while in chronic SSI, Mycobacterium fortuitum was found to be the major pathogen.